This long awaited major new work details every one of the eighty three Royal Yachts since the restoration of Charles II, and also reviews those 'vessels of state' effectively used as Royal Yachts prior to 1660. The yachts are classified into those vessels principally used by the monarch, those used for state duties, and those allocated to the commissioners of the Royal Dockyards and the Governors of the Isle of Wight. A separate chapter examines the history of those yachts allocated to the Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. For nearly seventy years there has been no new detailed record of the Royal Yachts of Britain, and with the decommissioning of HMY Britannia in 1997 several centuries of naval tradition came to a close. This book is heavily illustrated with paintings, drawings, plans and photographs, and as such also shows the development of marine painting and naval architecture. All the twenty four principle yachts are illustrated,and many of the secondary ones, along with detailed dimensions and the history of every yacht. Appendices detail the yachts by monarch, along with derivations of their names. (ISBN 1841141305, h/b, 238x258mm, 352pp)